Man hospitalized with Legionnaire’s disease in 2022 files lawsuit against Orillia and contractors
An Orillia man who was says he was hospitalized for weeks after contracting Legionnaire’s disease in the fall of 2022 has filed a $2.6-million lawsuit against the city.
Jo Brabant, now 55, first spoke to CTV News in November of that year and described his “nightmare” battle with the disease from which he says he hasn’t fully recovered.
“I still have hardness in breathing. It hasn’t gotten any better for me.”
Brabant says he struggles to breathe and get around; once-simple everyday tasks aren’t possible now.
Brabant, who is a father and husband says he is now experiencing a worsening memory loss.
“I have times where I’ll be driving and I forget where I’m going and I need to stop and like program it into my phone.”
Brabant claims he still suffers from chills and pains in his joints and muscles. He spent three weeks in hospital in October of 2022 and was on dialysis for a month and a half, battling kidney failure, fatigue and muscle loss. He says however he can’t remember much of the stay in hospital anymore.
Brabant filed the lawsuit against the City of Orillia and two of its contractors claiming they failed to keep him and about 30 others safe when they were sickened by legionella bacteria in the fall of 2022. The lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of Justice claims the city and those responsible for maintaining, cleaning and inspecting the cooling tower, where legionella was later found in September of that year, failed to take reasonable care of the facility and were negligent.
“They knew that there was cases from 2019 and they didn’t do anything about it but it took somebody dying for them to have to step up,” he says.
A 60-year-old Barrie man died of pneumonia that October according to the health unit.
Rotary Place was closed for several weeks while the city worked to find short and longer-term solutions to the cooling tower bacteria problem.
The lawsuit claims “As a result of the legionella outbreak and resulting illness Brabant continues to suffer decreased lung, heart and kidney function,” adding his “life expectancy has been significantly reduced.”
The city telling CTV News:
“As a standard practice” it “does not provide public comment regarding legal matters.”
Brabant, who lives in west Orillia but never entered the Rotary Place building prior to becoming sick, believes it happened when he was pumping gas nearby.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
“Just going about my daily life and had no clue that anything like this could happen to me and it did and I’m paying the price for it,” he says.
Brabant says he expects to have a response from the defendants by the end of the month. The allegations against them have not been tested in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
How to overcome 'savings guilt' when you're living paycheque to paycheque
As the higher cost of living continues to squeeze household budgets, many Canadians find they have even less left over at the end of every month to squirrel away for the future.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.